Life as I knew It
by theatregirl1
Summary: After Rogue runs away from home, she winds up living with Mystique, Wanda, and Pietro, and going to high school with the x-men. Changes come the year Scott and Jean begin teaching at their school.
1. The Journal Entry

I do like this journal.

After all these years, tryin' to remember all my back stories, and little white lies we've come up with, it's nice to be able to tell the real story somewhere. And I'll admit, Ms. Grey, it's nice to have a teacher who can know it, too.

At first, your journal assignment, 'Tell me about you're life so far' made me kinda nervous. But, since ya told me

"Just tell the truth. You're secrets are safe with me."

The truth is a pretty tricky thing, especially after all these years of pretending. But I'll tell ya what I know and what I remember. I guess that's the best I can do

I grew up on the Peace and Love Hippie Commune in Caldecott County, Mississippi. It was a pathetic, run-down little patch of land on the edge of town. It was surrounded by a chain link fence. If you went through the gate, you'd see a bunch of junky one-level houses jumbled next to each other. To the right were woods, and beyond the woods was the river. To the left of us was a small neighborhood of equally run down houses, making up the edge of the poor side of town.

The people of the neighborhood all thought they were better than us. To them, we were dirt-poor, no –account, hop-heads, and an embarrassment to the entire town. Fact was though; the people of the neighborhood were just as poor as we were in the commune, and I'm pretty sure there was a fair amount of drug use goin' on, too. But that doesn't mean that there weren't a lot of drugs in the commune, too.

Everyone in the commune did drugs. It was a pretty common thing. The commune's residents were mainly leftovers of the hippie generation, And of course, their children. The habits picked up at Woodstock hadn't been kicked, no matter how many years had passed.

Both of my parents did drugs. Sometimes, I thought that they had burned off their brain cells with the memories of having a daughter. I was a pretty neglected child.

I ran around in my mom's old, faded dresses that she wore when she was my age. Sometimes, I would go hungry, because my parents had spent the grocery money on drugs. Again.

School wasn't much an escape. I lived in the South, which is already always more conservative than other places. I t always seemed to me that the teachers at my elementary school were way more strict with the children from the hippie commune than all of the other kids at school. The older kids on the commune said that the teachers acted that way, because they thought they somehow could keep us from turning out like our parents if they were stricter with us than usual. And they were already pretty strict.

I don't know if they helped any of us or not.. But I do know I had some of the meanest teachers a person could ever have, and the most miserable school experience a person could ever have. I couldn't sit down without being told to sit straighter. I couldn't speak without being told to be quiet. If I accidentally forgot to call my teacher "Ma'am' or "Sir", then, _boy, _I was _in_ for it.

My childhood wasn't completely awful, though. The children of the commune banded together. We were all equal sharers of a pathetic, hopeless situation, and we all knew it. We would go down to the river together. We would swim, fish, sing, and dance. All of those old-time songs and dances you see in old movies about the South, we did every one of them. One day, we built a raft, went fishing up and down the river, and sold what we caught to a couple of very amused fisherman.

Another time, we came upon a good old-fashioned riverside baptism going on. We talked to the folks from the church, and got ourselves introduced to the pastor of the First Baptist Church from up town. After that day, their church van would show up at the commune promptly at nine o'clock every Sunday morning, to take we kids up to the church for the service and Sunday school.

Most all of us went. Everyone was nice to us, we sometimes got snack, and most importantly, it got us away from our usually broken homes. Most of the parents were sleeping off hangovers from the Saturday night before, so they usually didn't notice if their children went missing for an hour or two.

Then of course, there was Mrs. Dessen. She was this elderly black woman who lived in the neighborhood next to the commune. To all of us, she was Mama Dessie. She lived on a fixed income, yet she was always cheerful, and kind to me, and the rest of the hippie kids.

Sometimes, it felt like she was the mother that I should have had. She seemed to have a special place in her heart for me. She would help me with my homework, give me a cookie when I was good, and patch me up when I showed up injured, because one of my parents got so high they lashed out at me which happened more times that I want to admit, but let's just say I became pretty smart about first aid after a while.

And that's the way it was for me, misery mix with small instances of fun and happiness. The happiness never stuck around for long. But at least it was there at all.

I figured it would go on that way forever. But nothing ever lasts. And nothing ever will.

When I was in the fourth grade, my Mama disappeared. She was just gone one day. Anything could have happened to her. She could have gotten high and accidentally stepped off into the river. She could have gotten into trouble with drug dealers. Or, she could have just left. I don't know how happy of a marriage she and Daddy had. My Dad thought she had left us. The police hadn't been able to find any leads. He became angry, and bitter, which are both bad things to mix with drugs.

When I graduated Elementary school, the school put on this huge assembly. We walked across the stage they had set up in the cafeteria, and they handed us little certificates they had printed up for us. I was so proud; I raced home to show my dad. I got a good look in his eyes. It took me a second to connect his red, glassy eyes with the smoke that was filling the room. He threw me into the opposite wall, and screamed at me for thinking I was so smart and so special, when I wasn't at all. What followed was one of the worst nights of my life.

When I recovered, I realized that my life wasn't very good, and it was just going to get worse as time went on. I realized that the only way I would ever be able to live a happy, normal, healthy life would be to leave this one all together. I had to run way. So, I waited over the next few weeks. I snuck away money whenever I could, and slowly began to pack up my things. I didn't feel guilty about the money; because I knew it was money Daddy would just use for drugs.

When I felt like I was ready to steal away, I took off in the middle of the night. I boarded a bus up to New York City, which I figured would be big enough for me to hide in without being noticed.

Now, Miss Grey, I know about a million alarm bells must be going off in your head right now, but don't worry, the story has a happy ending. At least I think so. I don't know if you, particularly, agree.


	2. Becoming A Rogue

So, I ran away. I boarded a bus to New York City. There is a certain tree in Central Park I liked to sleep in. It had a huge limb jutting out of it that held up my child-sized body perfectly. It was summer time, and the weather was usually nice. During the day, I'd roam around the city. City people were too busy, too caught up inside their own worlds, to notice the tiny little 11-year old wandering around the streets.

Eventually, I started sleeping around in different city shelters, instead of trees. I'd usually just point to some random person, whenever anyone asked me where my parents were. It wasn't too hard to fool people. Most folks are usually too scared to look too closely into someone's life. They may have to get involved that way.

I wasn't sure how things would turn out for me. I couldn't go to school, and I wasn't sure how long I could last on my own in a big city. Then, one day, when I was down in the subway station, every thing changed.

It was day time, rush hour. The usual masses of people were making their way to their personal destinations. Now, all the rush and the noise of the city bothered me. I was a country girl. I was used to fresh air, and the peaceful and relaxing sounds of the river and the woods. So, I wandered off into an abandoned tunnel. After a while, the noises from the station faded. I leaned against the wall of the tunnel, and slid to the floor. For the first time since coming to the city, I felt like I was really at peace. But that peace only lasted for about two seconds.

**Bam! **

The sound of someone, or something going flying into a wall grabbed my attention. I jumped up and hid behind a big piece of concrete that had apparently cracked and fallen from the ceiling awhile ago. From my hidden view, I saw two people emerge out from a corner. One was a blond woman, wearing clothes that even to my young, inexperienced eyes looked very fashionable and expensive. The other, who had not just been thrown into a wall, but _through_ it, was a dark-haired woman in a business suit.

The dark-haired woman jumped up, dusted herself off, and kept on fighting. The two woman fought each other with so much skill, so much ferocity , it looked more like a battle in an action movie than anything that could happen in real life. I could barely believe my own eyes.

I had no idea what was going on. Was one trying to kill each other? Were they members of different mobs? Were they from warring families, like in _Romeo and Juliet_? Should I do something? I couldn't seem to make myself move.

Finally, the blond-haired woman in the nice clothes (which didn't look so nice, now, after the fight) got the better of the dark-haired woman.

"Tell Magneto he may fight his fool's war for himself. He'll get no help from me, and if tries to come peddling his ridiculous ideas on the foot steps of my school, no powers of any mutant alive will be able to save him."

And with that, the blond haired woman turned around and walked, no, _strutted_ off, into the main station. As soon as she was out of sight, I ran out from my hiding place to help the dark- haired woman.

"Ma'am, are you alright? Do you want me to get help?"

The dark-haired woman looked over at me in shock.

" A child? Did you see all of that?"

" Yes , Ma'am, I did. What was that all about?"

"Emma and I … don't get along very well. I was sent here to present to her a… proposition, and she was needlessly rude in her rejecting of it. And our little tiff escalated. Not that this is any of your business. Shouldn't you be in school right now, child?"

Her eyes fell on my backpack, and the blanket tied to the bottom of it.

"Ah, I understand," She said, in a much more sympathetic tone than before, "You're a runaway. I should have guessed by that accent of yours. Let me guess, a bad situation at home?"

"My mama disappeared a year ago, Ma'am, and my Daddy does drugs. He used to hit me a lot. Mama did too, before she disappeared."

"Did what? Hit you, or did drugs?

"Both, Ma'am. So I left. I knew something bad was goin' to happen if I stayed."

"I see… Parents aren't always the shining, safeguards they are supposed to be, child. I learned that at an early age, as you yourself have. So, what is your name, exactly?"

"Anna Marie Raven. Lots of times, people just called me Marie, though.

"Her eyes flashed "Raven…"

She went silent, like she was deciding something. Later on, I learned that the woman's real name was Raven Darkholme, and the fact that I shared , in some part, her name, made me remind her a whole lot of herself when she was my age. And that remembrance is what drove her to do what she did next.

"Okay… Marie. I'm going to show you something, and I want to know how you really feel about it"

Then, her clothes, her hair, her everything seemed to sink into her, as she morphed into a different person entirely. This new person had blue skin, and vivid red hair, and was, also, well, naked. (I blushed, and looked away.)

"Well, Marie, what do you think? This is what I really look like. Do I look scary, or freakish to you?"

"No, you're not scary. You're pretty."

And she was pretty, in a unique, exotic sort of way. Her blue skin was flawless, and her red hair, odd though it was, complimented it somehow.

"Really, I'm not weird to you? You don't think I belong on a circus side-show?"

"Ma'am, I grew up on a hippie commune. I've seen things a lot weirder than this."

And I had, too.

"So I see.. Well, then, in that case, you had better come with me. I'll look after you, better than you're real parents did. Besides, someone as young as you won't last very long on your own."

"Seriously ?"

"Seriously. Grab your little backpack, and follow me. I was just leaving for home, you can come with me."

"Where do you live?"

"I live in Westchester County. That in New York state, about an hour from the city."

(A/N- I have no idea where Westchester County really is, but for the sake of the story, it's an hour away from NYC)

So, I grabbed my bag, and she morphed back into the dark- haired woman from before, and we started off. It was a crazy thing to do, just go off with a total stranger, but I didn't have many other choices. She was right, someone as young as I was wouldn't have lasted very long on my own. I probably wouldn't have survived the following winter on the streets of New York. Plus, I figured if she was willing to trust me with as big of a secret of her morphing powers, I could probably trust her well enough. So, I went with her.

We boarded a subway, which took us to a parking garage, where she led me to her car. It was a really nice car. It was one of those classic models, from the fifties or sixties. It was painted a sleek blue color, and the inside had seats of red-brown leather. If I had to guess, it was probably in homage to her real appearance. Judging by how nice the car was, I guessed that whatever job she worked at, she made a lot of money.

As we were driving to her home, and my new home, I realized I had no idea what her real name is.

"Hey, um, what is your name?"

"My name in this form, what you should call me if I'm in public like this, or if you ever have to call me at work, if Raven Darkholme. However, my preferred name, that I want you to call me everywhere else, is Mistique."

"Mistique." I tried out the name. I liked it. It seemed to fit my interesting new caretaker.

"Okay. I understand. Hey, where do you work, anyway?"

"The CIA."

"You're a secret agent?!"

She smiled at my enthusiasm. "No, it's more on the administrative side."

"Oh." I Still thought that it was cool, though.

Soon, we were pulling up in the driveway of Mistique's house. It was about five minutes outside of the local town, which was called Salem. While it certainly wasn't the Xavier mansion, Ms. Grey, it sure was big. It had, and still does have, about nine or ten rooms on each floor. It was a large white house, with a big front porch. It had a really large back yard, with a pool.

According to Mistique, she had bought because she and Magneto, who I hadn't met at that point, had wanted to start their own mutant school. It would be a sort of anti-Xavier institute. Now, don't go having a heart attack just yet, Ms. Grey. The plan fell through. Magneto was too busy running around, fighting for "the cause", to headmaster a school. As for Mistique, she didn't have the _exact_ temperament to run a school by herself. She did decide to keep the house, though.

She let me pick a room, and pretty soon, I got settled in the house, which I soon began to call home. Mistique, while not exactly what I'd call the _maternal_ type, did take pretty good care of me. I never had to worry about whether I would be able to eat that day, or worry about someone hurting me.

One day, she came home from the city laden with shopping bags full of clothes for me, to replace the worn-down, torn up, second-hand clothes I had brought with me from Caldecott County. Yes, life was way better than it ever had been, and as I found out, was about to go through some even more radical changes.

"So, why are we doing this?"

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Mistique had called me in from playing outside, to tell me that she wanted to give me a haircut.

"Well, first off, It's time you were give a decent hair-cut. One of the downsides of the hippie lifestyle is lack of concern for proper grooming. Secondly, I'm going to send this DNA to a lab. They are going to see if you have the x-gene."

"And that means I 'm a mutant, right? And I'll have powers, like you?"

"Yes." She replied, and began snipping away at my very long, dark hair.

"Mistique, if it turns out I'm not a mutant, will you still let me stay here?"

She stopped cutting.

"…Yes. I care about you, Marie, powers or no powers."

Assured, I let her cut my hair from waist length to a few inches past my shoulders. After a few weeks, the results came back form the lab. Yes, I did have the x-gene. Unfortunately, they couldn't tell us what my powers would be.

"Usually, when someone gets their powers, they get a new mutant name based off what their power is." Mistique informed me. "But, that could be a few years down the road, and I don't want to wait that long. Anna Marie is a very pretty name, but I don't like human names to much, do you understand?"

I did understand. She had problems with humans, and human identities. I didn't know why, but I guess it had something to do with her past, and her real family.

"How about we call you Rogue, then? Since you were a runaway when I found you?"

Rogue. I liked it. It was mysterious and sounded daring. I imagined being called that by people from now on, and the idea excited me.

"Okay, Rogue sounds good to me."

So much had happened to me, in such a short space of time. I had a new home, and an exciting future. Pretty soon, I would be a mutant. I though that maybe, in time, Mistique could teach me how to fight like her, so I could have adventures like her when I grew up.

I figured I would have a pretty exciting life when I was, oh, in my twenties or thirties. You know, when I was a full-grown adult.

Yeah. It didn't take that long.

Hey, everyone! Man, I am excited about his story. These first few chapters are setting things up., but there's more to come. Mandamina, Tenchi13, thank you so much for favoriting and alerting my story. I feel so honored! Please review, everyone, I'd love to know what you think. Stick around folks; I've got some grand plans for this one.


	3. Magneto's Suggestion

That summer, after Mistique took me in, was the happiest of my childhood. Mistique was gone a lot, for her work, but I watched movies, or played outside. I swam a lot in the pool. The days passed in a haze of blue skies and blazing sunshine. I hoped it would never end, but, as I said, nothing ever stays the same.

The summer ended, and it was time for school again. Mistique enrolled me in a small private Christian school, just down the road from our house. Mistique figured that since it was an out-of-the-way private school, it would be easier to keep it a secret that I wasn't actually her daughter. So, that's how I wound up spending my 6th grade year at Calvary Christian Primary School.

It was a small little school, and very controlled. The rules were very strict. We always had to be quiet. We couldn't be running around, or "making spectacles "of ourselves. Even at recess, everyone was very staid and self-controlled. The boys would usually play a quiet, subdued game of kickball, while the girls sat in the grass, talking quietly to each other. Usually, we would sit in a circle, taking turns reading a book out loud.

Once, a girl brought a quilt she was working on, and we all helped her with it. I remember that especially, because a teacher came over to watch us, to make sure the excitement didn't make us get too rowdy. The teachers were always keeping us reined in. I don't remember being too upset about it, though. I was used to strict teachers, and their strict rules. But, unlike my teachers from the South, they had those rules because they really did want us to be good. So, instead of stifling, the teachers came off as sincere. So, while I wasn't necessarily happy there, I did feel…safe.

At the end of the year, the school put on its annual program for the parents. Mistique took the day off from work to come and watch. Each class put on a skit, either religion- based or a sort of presentation about what they had learned that year. My class had done a special unit on the history of some popular hymns, so we put on a mini-concert. I sang "Go Tell It on the Mountain". While I'm no Britney Spears, I wasn't half –bad. At least, a lot of the parents awed over my 'adorable' Southern accent.

Now, even during normal school days, we children were expected to be models of behavior. We weren't allowed to talk out of turn, or draw too much attention to ourselves with our behavior. With company visiting the school, we were supposed to be doubly good, and we generally were. All of the visiting parents complimented the teachers on being able to keep so many students under control. Even after the program, when the students were dismissed to recess, and the parents were invited to stay in the cafeteria for coffee and cookies, we went out quietly and in order.

Everyone else's parents were very proud of their well-behaved children. Even more so, they were very impressed with the school and its teachers for keeping the student in line so well. Everyone was impressed…except for Mistique.

While other parents saw well behaved kids, she saw children who weren't allowed to act like children. She thought the way we were treated, and were expected to behave, was harsh and unfair. She was probably right. I didn't know it, but the way we acted at Calvary wasn't normal for a bunch of school children. At other school, we would have been allowed to talk more, and at recess we would have been able to get more rowdy. My strict, conservative Southern elementary school hadn't been much different than the way things were at Calvary, so it didn't really ring with me that things were supposed to be different.

It rang with Mistique, though. At the end of my 6th grade year, she pulled me out of Calvary Christian School. I can't say I minded. The kids at Calvary were nice, but I hadn't really made close friends with any of them. I wasn't too attached to the school, or any of the teachers. So I was fine with it. Only thing was, I had no idea what I would next.

_(A/N- This next part takes place in the third person POV, as Rogue couldn't have witnessed it) _

"It was disgusting, Eric," Mistique ranted, pacing around her brightly-lit kitchen. "They didn't even seem like children. They were more like child-sized robots, obediently doing exactly what they were programmed to do."

Eric Lensherr, also known as Magneto, master of magnetism, listened to Mistique with a small, patient smile on his face. He quite liked Mistique. They had been friends, and sometimes, _more_ than friends, with each other for years now. He had come for a visit, and had been surprised to find that she had taken in a runaway. He liked Rogue, and was very interested to see what her powers would turn into one day.

"My dear, what can you expect from humans? They are so afraid of a little disorder in their perfect lives; they try to control everything around them to prevent it."

"You're right, you're right…" Mistique muttered, groaning that she had ever put Rogue in that ridiculous school, "Well, I'm taking her out of that school, and Salem Jr. High probably won't be much of a solution."

"Why do you say that?"

"I have vivid memories of my experiences in a public middle school."

"Ah…Well then, in that case, may I make a suggestion? You remember my children, Wanda and Pietro? They are Rogue's age, I believe. For the last few years, they have been living with their tutor in Philadelphia. You know, Twister, the man who can control the weather? Well, what I'm suggesting is that Wanda and Pietro come here to live with you and Rogue, and the three children could be home schooled together. The three of them together could keep each other motivated, as you and I are far too busy to oversee their studies."

"Well, as far as schooling goes, that sounds like a good plan. But I don't know about me looking after three children. One is more than I've ever considered myself capable of handling."

"Wanda and Pietro are very mature, very capable of looking after themselves. They are also very motivated students. I think they would be a help to you , as far as Rogue is concerned, instead of a burden. Of course, I would send provisions for their needs and wants, while I am away."

Considering the circumstances, it seemed like the best plan to be found. So, together, Mistique and Magneto went online and signed up Rogue, Wanda, and Pietro for a home schooling program, and ordered their books for the next year. Magneto left for Philadelphia to get his children, and Rogue helped Mistique get two of the spare rooms ready for their coming.

Such was the coming of Wanda and Pietro Lensherr into Rogue's new family.

Hey, guys, another chapter down. Thanks for the review Quicksilver. I personally think that Mistique does have another side to her, and it comes out here. She can't be all serious, sexy, shoot-em-up mistique, when dealing with an 11-year old. I do think she sort of sees herself reborn in Rogue, with the running away, and the bad family life. I think she thinks that with Rogue, she could do things the way the should have been done with her.


	4. Wanda and Pietro

(_A/N- alright, back to Rogue's journal_.)

Any shyness between me, Wanda, and Pietro lasted only about two seconds. We became fast friends, and in time, I began to see them as the brother and sister I never had, and they came to see me like a second sibling. We spent the entire summer between our 6th and 7th grades hanging out, getting to know each other, and just having a good time .

Wanda and Pietro were twins, and exactly my age. Wanda was gorgeous, even then. She had long, curly, caramel-colored hair, a slightly darker complexion than her brother, and chocolate brown eyes that lit up when she laughed. She wore very warm colors, because she thought they looked best with her hair and eye color. Every outfit she owned seemed to be made of orange, yellow, pink, and, most of all, red. This wasn't a huge deal, at the time, but it came to be an important fact about her a few years later.

Pietro, on the other hand, took more after his Father when it came to looks. He had electric-green eyes, and bright white-blond hair that attracted stares in crowds. And, oh my, that boy was scrawny as all get out! Whenever Pietro wore tight shirts, that first year they were living with us, we could see the outline of his ribs sticking out. He also was, and is still, a very talented musician. He could play the guitar, the piano, and he had a beautiful singing voice. He would often entertain us with his music back then, and he still does today.

Their mother had died when they were young children, in a fire. Ever since then, Magneto had dropped them off with other family members, or friends of his, only visiting his children every few months. Wanda once told me that she thought Magneto did this out of shame. That because, for all his power, he couldn't save the woman he loved from a stupid electrical fire. She and her brother, Wanda assumed, were constant, living reminders of his self-presumed failing. Leaving them with his friends or relatives spared him some of the heart ache. It irked Pietro how little he saw his father, but he tried not to show it. At least, he didn't back then.

For the next two years, for our 7th and 8th grades, we were home schooled. It may seem crazy to you, Ms. Grey, three kids, in charge of their own education, but we did it. We would get through our studies in the morning, and then we'd have the afternoon to ourselves. I guess that was our incentive for doing our work. I would handle English, Pietro would teach science, and Wanda the numbers whiz would handle math. We would take turns with health and social studies.

I learned a lot, those two years. Sometimes, it felt like I was learning more with Wanda and Pietro as my teachers, than all those years in public school. We would work together, to make sure all three of us understood everything we were supposed to be learning. For field trips, we would take a bus up to New York City, and go to museums and exhibits.

We were always coming up with things to do. Once, we built a tree house, with a swing set, in the backyard. Another time, we built a go-cart , and entered it in a race in Salem. We won 2nd was the memorable Spring of my 7th grade year, when Wanda and I joined a soccer team for home-schooled kids. We dominated the league.

Every now and then, Mystique would stop by our bedroom that had been converted into a classroom, and we would show her what we were doing and learning. Eventually, she started teaching us basic self-defense skills. The basement of our house was pretty big, and all finished and decorated. Half was a sort of living area, and in the back was a big open space, used as a training and gym, area. So, often on nights, we would go down to the training area, and practice what she taught us.

Ms. Grey, those two years were some of the happiest times of my life. It felt like I was making up for lost time, reclaiming my childhood in a way. Every night, Wanda and Pietro would meet me in my room, and we'd make up a list of everything we wanted to do the next afternoon, and the next day, we'd go and do every last one of them. That is what started the tradition of Wanda, Pietro, and I meeting up in my room every night, to discuss the day's events, and to just talk things over. It's something we still do now, years later.

Mystique, Pietro, Wanda, and Magneto, when he was around, formed into my little makeshift family. The family I never had, or should have had. We got along like peanut butter and jelly, and even when we fought it wasn't long until we made up.

Then, one by one, the three of us began to develop our powers. The first one to get powers was Pietro, with his super speed. One day, we were playing soccer in the back yard, and he was running toward the goal. He wound up running_ into_the goal. Then Wanda, with her strange hex power, then, lastly me, with my absorbing power. I wasn't as thrilled as Pietro and Wanda to get my powers, but I learned how to deal. When Magneto found out about the three of us developing our powers, he dropped what he was doing and came home to visit. We had a celebratory dinner, with a cake and everything. It felt like a birthday party.

That was when Wanda and Pietro got their mutant code names. Pietro became known as Quicksilver, because his bright,m eye-catching white-blond hair made him look like a blur of silver when he ran. Wanda became the Scarlet Witch, because her powers seemed more mystical than mutant-like. Also, because of her signature favorite color, red. Rogue, however, had already stuck with me, so my name wasn't changed to fit my powers. I was glad. I didn't like any of the names I could think of for someone who can kill people just by touching them.

Those are about the biggest major events that happened those two years. That is, until the spring of my 8th grade year. That was when Magneto made the mistake of bring a few of his "Colleagues" home with him for a visit, and the insanity that ensued because of it. Is this ringing any bells yet, Ms. Grey? With Blob, and Toad, in the forest behind the Salem Community Center? You guessed it. I'm talking about the day we met the infamous X-men.

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Another Chapter down! The next one will be longer, I promise. Thanks again for the review Quicksilver. I read your story. I enjoyed it, though I don't know too much about X-factor. Stick with it everyone; things have only just begun for Rogue and all of her are about to get a little dramatic. As I've said, these first few chapters are sort of setting things up for the main story, which takes place when Rogue and the others are in high school. But, the events that take place in these beginning chapters are important to the story, and set the tone for it as well. Please review, I would love to know what you think.


	5. Meeting The XMen

_Those are about the biggest major events that happened those two years. That is, until the spring of my 8__th__ grade year. That was when Magneto made the mistake of bring a few of his "Colleagues" home with him for a visit, and the insanity that ensued because of it. Is this ringing any bells yet, Ms. Grey? With Blob, and Toad, in the forest behind the Salem Community Center? You guessed it. I'm talking about the day we met the infamous X-men._

* * *

It was a warm, bright April afternoon, in the spring of our eighth grade year. Wanda, Pietro and I had finished our school work for the day, and were hanging out around the house. We did have a pool in our huge back yard, but it had been a very rainy month, so we had decided to wait until May to open it up. Wanda and I were in the driveway, sitting on the back of Mystique's car. As we sat with our feet dangling over the pavement, we took turns playing with Wanda's paper fortune teller.

"What's your favorite color?" Wanda asked.

"Green." I replied.

"1, 2,3,4,5, Congratulations, you're going to marry Justin Timberlake." She informed me.

"Darn. Can I trade him for Chad Michael Murray? "

We busted up laughing. Just then Pietro came out the front door carrying a bottle of soda, and a piece of paper.

"Okay, girls," He said, sitting the bottle of soda, which was Diet Coke, in front of us. "It's time for today's science lesson."

"Pietro, we already had our science lesson today." said Wanda.

"Well, here is an _extra_ one. You'll like it, it's really cool."

He then reached into his pocket, pulled out a pack of mentos, and opened it. Taking off the cap of the soda bottle, he put a bunch of mentos into the bottle. Immediately, the soda foamed up, and spewed up out of the bottle like a jet. It was like watching a miniature Old Faithful.

"No way, that is so cool." I squealed.

"The explanation for this," Said Pietro, reading off the piece of paper, "Is that the caffeine, potassium benzoate, aspartame, and CO2 gas contained in the Diet Coke and the gelatin and gum arabic ingredients of the Mentos all contribute to the jet effect. In addition, the physical structure of the Mentos is the most significant cause of the eruption due to , the surface of the mint Mentos is littered with many small holes, allowing CO2 bubbles to form very rapidly and in great quantity, in turn causing the jet of foam. And that, ladies, concludes your extra credit science lesson for today."

Pietro made a few theatrical bows. We clapped for him, laughing so hard that our ribs actually hurt.

"It's so cool. There are videos of people doing it with, like, a hundred bottles at a time all over the Internet-"

Pietro stopped short, and Wanda and I fell silent, as a huge shadow fell over Pietro. He turned around, and was met by an incredibly tall, grossly obese man. All was quiet, until the silence was broken by a familiar, amused sounding voice saying

"Now, what is all of this mess about?"

"Dad!"

Wanda and Pietro rushed over to Magneto, who had just come up the drive, and gave him a hug. Behind Magneto, came a younger man, in his early twenties, walking, no, _hopping_ up the driveway.

"Wanda, Pietro, Rogue, this is Toad, and associate of mine." Introduced Magneto. " This man is the aptly named Blob, another associate."

"Why'd you bring them home for your visit?" Asked Pietro, eyeing Blob, who had taken the bottle of Diet Coke, and begun to drink the remaining soda.

"We have a bit of business to take care of in town tonight. But don't let that bother you. Is Mystique home right now? I'd like to speak to her."

"It's a mutant meeting." Said Magneto, between forkfuls of spaghetti. " On the surface it's a biker's club meeting, but in reality, it's for mutants to discuss this Mutant Registration Act that the government is considering."

It was later that night, during were all sitting down to a dinner of spaghetti, rolls, and tossed salad. Well, most of us were. Blob was eating a bowl of cereal. Not a regular bowl, mind you, but a big bowl, one that you would use for mixing cake batter, or for when you had made popcorn. He had used up a whole box of cereal, and half a gallon of milk. Suddenly, the mystery of how he had gained so much weight wasn't such a mystery any 's other 'associate' Toad, was crouched up on the counter. He was having a game with Pietro, seeing which was faster at grabbing a roll from the other side of the room; his tongue, or Pietro 's speed.

Pietro was having the time of his life. Usually, he was the only boy around here. But, with Toad, Blob, and Magneto here visiting, for once the number of males out numbered the females. Though Pietro loved Wanda, Mystique, and I, I knew that it was rough for him to be the only guy around. Especially at such an important age, too. Like I said, Magneto wasn't around too much. So Pietro lacked role models.

Then again, so did Wanda and I. Mystique was nice to us and everything, and I was grateful to her for taking me in, of course, but I'd hardly consider someone to emulate. I knew that, even then. But Wanda, Pietro, and I had each other, and we figured that was enough. At least it was back then.

"It's at the Salem Community Center." Continued Magneto, snapping me back to Earth. "I brought Toad and Blob along, just in case any sort of fight breaks is sure to be there, with his precious x-men. Have you bumped into him lately, by chance?"

"No. I don't go out much around Salem. The children do, but they woundn't recognize him, or any of his students. Do they even know who he is?"

"Sure we do,"Piped up Pietro, grabbing a roll off the table, just before Toad's tongue reached it. " He was a friend of Dad's, but they had some sort of fight, and don't get along anymore. He runs some sort of school for mutants somewhere."

"That's right," Said Magnet. "And I'm sure he'll be here tonight. The problem is, if a battle breaks out, as it often does when we're together, it might be counterproductive to The Cause. If we're busy fighting, nothing can be decided about this ridiculous Mutant Registration Act."

"Perhaps you could bring the children along," suggested Mystique, "You know how soft-hearted Charles Xavier is. He may be less willing to let his x-men partake in a fight if there are young ones in attendance."

"An excellent idea, Mystique."Said Magneto, nodding his head in approval." And Wanda and Pietro are getting old enough to be out in mutant society. What do you three say, then, would you like to come help keep the peace at a mutant rally tonight?"

Wanda, Pietro and I looked over at each other, and knew the answer in one glance.

Oh, _Yeah._

* * *

When I think back on my memories of that night, I remember being really excited, and really nervous. I think I changed my outfit about ten times. It was like I was going to a dance or something. I had only ever met a few mutants, and I was really curious about meeting others. Wanda and Pietro had already met loads of mutants because of their dad, but they had never been to a meeting like this. According to them, going to meetings like this made up a lot of what there father did. He spent a lot of time rallying mutants together, and coming up with secret plots to help the Mutant Cause.

When we arrived at the Community Center, we were ushered into a small gym, that was already buzzing with people. The bleachers were packed.

"I had no idea there were so many of us." I said in amazement.

"You think this is a lot ?" Replied Pietro ", Babe, you haven't seen anything yet."

The meeting began, and Magneto was the first one to stand up to speak. He spoke of his time during the holocaust. He spoke about man's inclination to fear anything different from himself. He said that if the mutant population didn't act, then soon, a similar extermination attempt would be enacted against mutants.

"My friends, " He concluded, "the time is now. If we do not take swift action, believe me, they will, against us.

"And what does that _swift action_entail,"A voice yelled out. "bloodshed and murder of innocents?"

The room fell absolutely silent. A young man, who had been sitting on the bottom bleacher seats, stood up. From my seat up at the top, I made out that he had dark brown hair and was wearing for some reason, dark sunglasses. His name was Cyclops, as I would soon find out.

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. " Said another voice. It was Blob, walking over from where he had beem standing at the sides. He hadn't fit on the bleachers.

"We'll do what we have to do. You want to make something of it?"

Cyclops raised his hands to his sunglasses.

" Scott!" It was a man in a wheelchair, who had been sitting next to Cyclops on the ground. He wheeled around and I could make out that he was a bald, older man, but he didn't seem frail or infirm at all.

"This is not the place for a fight. There are children here."

"That's _got_ to be Xavier." Muttered Pietro.

Xavier's head turned toward us in the bleachers, as if he had somehow heard Pietro. He turned back to Cyclops.

"Sit down Scott. You, too, Mr. Duncan."

"The name is Blob." Growled Blob, but he did sit down.

I remember later on, when we were having our nightly talk-things-over in my room, Wanda, Pietro, and I agreed that Blob looked a little robotic as he sat down. Almost like he was being _made_ to do it.

The meeting continued. Magneto sat down, and a young woman with red hair stood up, and made a speech. That was you, Ms. Grey. I remember you talked about the importance of peace, and understanding. I remember you saying that bloodshed would only lead to more bloodshed, and there would be a high death toll on both sides of the line. I remember how you quoted what Gandhi said about and eye for an eye. I remember how you had a lot of people listening to you. They seemed pretty convinced.

But I also remember what happened next, and how that nullified everything you had been talking about.

"Hey, honey, why don't you unbutton more of that top? That'll convince us more than ten speeches." Blob the idiot yelled.

Next thing I knew, he was getting blasted into a wall by a huge red laser blast. Suddenly everyone was on the bleachers flooded onto ground of the gym, fighting. Magneto, Mystique, Toad and Blob faced off against Cyclops, you, Xavier, and a young Black woman who I later learned was Storm.

But you already know how that battle turned out, Ms. Grey. I'll fast forward to what you don't know. What you probably don't know is that most of the people in that gym knew, in some way, about the rivalry between the x-men and Magneto. Most of them had come from around the area, not for a meeting, but hoping to be involved in some legendary battle. That's why the fight at the community center wasn't as much of a battle as much as it was a full-scale riot.

For this reason, Magneto found us in the bleachers, and yelled for us to run out into the woods, behind the community center. He wasn't ready for us to be fighting in his wars yet, Ms. Grey, but believe you me, that day was coming. Anyways, Wanda, Pietro and I ran down the bleachers, and bullet-ed over to the door that led to the backside of the center. We got outside, and started into the trees.

"Hey, where are you going?"

I looked back, and saw a boy about my age, with icy blue eyes and sandy blond hair. He was with about four other kids, also around my age, who were all apparently hiding out from the fight inside.

"We're hiding in the woods. You probably should,too it 's not safe out here."

"We were told to stay here." He said." It's probably safe enough."

Just then, Blob came zooming through the wall behind the boy with the sandy-blond hair. One of the other kids with a boy, a short, petite girl with dark brown hair, jumped up with a yelp from where she had been sitting on the ground.

" She's right, Bobby. Let's get out of here. We can come back when everything's calmed down."

So, all _eight_ of us now, ran off into the woods. We found a small clearing, far enough away that we weren't in any immediate danger, but close enough that we could hear whether all of the fighting had stopped.

"Aw man," Pietro said, sitting on a fallen log. "Blob is such an idiot. This is all of his fault. I can't believe he said that to that woman. I'd have blasted him into a wall, too."

"That woman is our teacher." Supplied Bobby. "Her mutant name is Phoenix. The guy with the laser blaster eyes, is called Cyclops."

"So, are you guys students at that mutant school, then?" I asked. "The one Charles Xavier runs ?"

"Yeah," Said the short, dark haired girl with pride. ",we are. Hey, do you guys live around here? Every now and then we go into town, to see a movie or go to the mall. Maybe we could meet up or something."

"Yeah, that'd be cool…Wait a minute, is the school around here?" Asked Pietro.

"Yeah," Said the short, brown haired girl ."Here, actually, on the outskirts of Salem, on the east side of town."

"What?!" Wanda, Pietro and I snapped up.

"You mean," I said, " that this entire time, there has been an entire school chalk full of kids who are _just like us_ in this town."

"Yeah." Said Bobby, a little alarmed at our reactions.

"I can't believe they never told us." I said to Wanda and Pietro .

"Who never told you?" Asked Bobby. "And what does it matter?"

"We live here in Salem. too. On the outskirts of town, but on the west side." Pietro explained. "We never knew about the school being here, and if we had we would have, well, I don't think we would have done anything, maybe, but that's still a huge thing not to know."

"Why? What's the big deal?" Asked the brown haired girl.

Then, we heard the the heart –wrenching sound of a small explosion. My thoughts traveled back to Mystique and Magneto, still in the fight back at the community center. I hoped they were okay.

"Man, it all started with that white-haired freak's speech. That's what got Cyclops so angry in the first place." Said Bobby.

"Hey," Said Pietro, "that _white-haired freak_ is _my_** father**."

All of the five kids from the institute gasped. Seriously, in the same _pitch_, same _volume_, and they _ended_ at the same time. It was almost theatrical.

"Saw that coming." Pietro grimaced.

"You're Magneto's _son_?" Asked an Asian-American girl from their group.

"Yep." Said Pietro, grinning. "It's a bit like finding out Voldemort had kids, isn't it?"

Everyone laughed. The tension was broken.

"Oh, I'm sorry man, we didn't mean to be-" Started Bobby.

"It's all right.. My father is either a mutant hero or a mutant terrorist, depending on who you talk to. We're used to it." Said Pietro, shrugging it off.

"We?" Asked the brown haired girl.

"Oh, this is my sister, Wanda." Pietro explained, gesturing to his sister. "We're twins.

This is our friend, Rogue."

"Who's kid are you?" Asked the short, dark haired girl.

"No one's. " I answered. "Mystique took me in after I ran away from an bad home

situation. The three of us live with her, because Magneto travels a lot. Do you know

Mystique is ?"

Bobby, and the two other boys that were with him smiled at each other.

"Yeah, we know who she is," Said Bobby, trying to control a smile on his face. " It's a

little hard to miss the half-naked blue-skinned woman in the room."

The two other boys laughed, but they were quickly stifled by looks from the two girls.

"I get it." Said Pietro. "I've known Mystique my entire life, so I guessed I'm used to

her. But I guess it would be a shock if I didn't. If you ever come across a woman named

Emma Frost, though, you'll see she's not the worst out there."

"Emma Frost? I've never heard of her." Said the short, dark haired girl.

"Good." Wanda, Pietro, and I said in unsion.

"Hey, what grade are you guys in?" Asked Wanda.

"We're all in eighth." Answered the Asian American girl.

"Really? So are we." I said. " Magneto brought us here tonight because he hoped that

there wouldn't be any fighting if there were kids around."

"Same with Professor Xavier." Said Bobby. "That, and we're just about the only kids left

at the mansion. Everyone else went home for Easter vacation."

"Oh my gosh, " Said Wanda ", is it Easter?"

"You didn't know?" Asked the short dark haired girl in surprise. "I'm Jewish, and even

I knew that."

"I don't know. I mean, I guess we weren't paying attention. We're home schooled. I

guess we're a little cut off from the world." I said.

Everyone grew silent as we pondered this. Then I realized that it had grown totally silent

all around.

"It sounds like the fighting has stopped. We should probably head back." I said.

Everyone agreed, and got from where they were sitting. We chatted casually as we

headed back.

"So, what's up with this Cyclops, anyway ?" Asked Pietro. "Does he usually blast

everyone who makes him mad through a wall?"

"Actually, he's usually very strict and under control." Said Bobby. "But he's been on

edge lately. See, he's dating Phoenix, that's why he got so mad at that Blob guy. But,

they're actually breaking up. He's really upset about it. He doesn't like to show it in front

of the students, but we can tell."

"Why are they breaking up?" Asked Wanda, curiously.

"She's leaving, for like, a year, on some masters program through Princeton. She'll

be in Rome, Venice, Idon't know, somewhere in Italy, while he'll be here teaching at the

's afraid the long distance thing will do more harm than good." Bobby

explained.

I though about his for a minute. For some reason, I was reminded of this old Irving

Berlin song, _'Falling Out of Love can be Fun'_ Well, you know how it is when you get a

song stuck in you're head, Ms. Grey. Next thing I knew, I was singing it, and Wanda,

who knew the song from me, started singing a long. And that was what we were singing

as we walked through the trees back up to the community center.

_Falling out of love can be fun_

_After love is over and done_

_It's an awful blow and although it's upsetting_

_So much you can do while you're forgetting_

_Falling out of love can be fun_

_When you've find your lover has gone_

_Get your second wind and go on_

_There's an old affair that is there for renewing_

_In your grief, do you know what you're doing?_

_Falling out of love can be fun_

_Soon, you'll be swinging in a hammock on a porch_

_One arm wrapped around someone else_

_The other arm carrying a torch_

(A/N- this is an Awesome song. Youtube it. Then you'll understand why this is the last song they should have been singing that night.)

* * *

We were singing this when we walked into the gym. It looked like the battle was over. People were heading out. Some mutant, who apparently had the power of doing a good repair job, was going around fixing all the damage that the fight had caused. Another was pulling down the security cameras, and messing with the tape so they didn't have footage of the battle. In the middle of the court, Magneto and his three team mates were talking with Professor Xavier and his x-men.

Except for Cyclops and Phoenix, that is. They were off in a corner. Wanda and I were still singing

_Love can give a lady a clout_

_And she may be down but not out_

_Get yourself a date, don't you wait for the count of ten, then_

_Falling out of love can be falling in love again_

Cyclop's head snapped over to us. Uh-oh. I could tell by the look on his face that we had been singing the worst possible song at the worst possible time. You, Ms. Grey, turned around, saw us, and came right over, with Cyclops following.

"There you are!" You said. " We hoped you'd gone off into the woods for safety, because the fighting went outside.

Then you noticed us. "Now, who do we have here?"

"Wanda! Pietro! Come over here." Everyone's head snapped toward Magneto.

Wanda, Pietro, and I made our way over to the middle of the court, accompanied by the five x-kids ,and their teachers.

"Are you all right?" Mystique asked me.

" We're fine." I said. "All of us are."

"Who exactly are these children, Eric?" Asked Professor Xavier.

"These are _my_ children, Charles. I'd like you to meet Wanda and Pietro, my son and daughter." Introduced Magneto.

"You have children?" Professor Xavier said, incredulous. "You never told me!"

"Yes, well, it's been a long time since we've been on each other's Christmas card list, hasn't it?"

"Well, I suppose that's true," Professor Xavier admitted ", and as for you child? Who's child are you?" He said to me.

" Um…" How_ did_ you explain my situation?

" I adopted her." Mystique interrupted. " …sort of."

Professor Xavier, and all his x-men either dropped their jaws, or just plain gasped. I saw Cyclops give the Professor a look, clearly saying _'How did we not know about all of this?'_

" What?" She demanded. "Is that so crazy?"

"Well, " Said Cyclops, laughing a little. " It's just that you've never really come across as the… _maternal_ type."

She grimaced at him.

"I've never seen any of them around the area before." You said, Ms. Grey.

"The children are home-schooled. " Said Mystique, "So they wouldn't be out around town to much."

"Really, and which of you has the time to teach them?" Cyclops asked skeptically.

"We... kind of teach ourselves. " Pietro put in.

" What?!"

" We do pretty well." Pietro defended.

"I make sure they are learning everything they need to know." Mystique assured Cyclops.

" So, are they going to just keep on teaching themselves? That may work for _now_, but what about when they're in high school? You think they can teach themselves advanced French and trigonometry?" You asked, Ms. Grey.

"She's right , you know." Wanda whispered to us.

" Shut up." Pietro whispered back.

A few of the adults snickered.

"Not that the education of my children is any of your business. Now, if that's all the exposition you need right now, we'd better get back home." Said Magneto.

The x-men agreed, and we kids said our good-byes, to the surprise of the adults.

"I guess I'll see you around." Said Bobby.

"Yeah." I agreed. I liked Bobby already. He seemed pretty cool

"Not likely." I heard Cyclops mutter, as he pulled Bobby away from me, back with the x-men, as they were turning to leave.

And that was my very eventful first meeting with the infamous, uncanny X-Men. But, that first impression isn't what defined our feelings towards you all. It was the second impression, that was formed the next day at the Salem movie theatre. You weren't there, Ms. Grey, but I'm sure you heard about it. But I'll get to that later.

* * *

"Never came up! That's kind of a huge thing to forget to mention!" Said Pietro.

It was later that night, back at home. Wanda, Pietro and I were in the living room with Mystique and Magneto. We had been grilling them about why they had never told us about the Institute.

"Would it had mattered if we had?" Asked Magneto. " Would anything be different now if you had known?"

"Maybe not, " I said ", but what if we had met him while we were in town sometime? He's a telepath, right? So he would know who we were, and we'd have no idea who he was, or a _clue_ what to do. "

You sort of hung us out to dry." Wanda put in.

"You may have a point ." Magneto said, musingly. " Well, you know now, and you must be careful. I won't say avoid them, it's good for you to meet other young mutants. I'd rather you'd go making friends with them than any of the human teenagers around here. Yet, while the x-men may be nice to you, remember, I am one of their enemies. Don't be surprised if they or any one of their students give you the cold shoulder, or even seem afraid to speak to you. So you understand?"

We told him we did.

"Well, now that's settled." Said Mystique. "I doubt it will matter much anyways. You're here, and the x-men are all holed up in there precious school on the other side of town. I can't imagine you're lives will ever be mixed up with the x-kid's ever again."

** Oh, how wrong she was.**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 5 down! Thanks for all reviews and alerts so far. Phew, what a long chapter. Chapter 6 will be a sort of cut off point, between these early years and the rest of the story. Stay tuned because next chapter will set things up for everything else. Please read and review, I'd love to know what you think. (and check out that song on youtube, it's awesome)


	6. Cyclops, you jerk

I woke up the next morning after the community center incident with my head still buzzing from all that I had learned and experienced form the night before. I laid there, in my bed, for a good ten minutes, letting everything sink in.

I guess I should describe my room. The carpet was a sort of light tan, so I could change the color of the room any time, and it wouldn't clash with the carpet. The color of my walls was yellow, and I had purple curtains on the big window and purple cushions on the window seat. My bed was one of those big old-fashioned four poster beds, with curtains you could pull around the bed to keep out the sun if you wanted to sleep in. The curtains were a light gauzy purple, which matched my window curtains.

After years of growing up in a dark, dingy house, I had taken all the color and light I could get, and I wound up getting a lot. I loved it. My room was so happy and peaceful. I would have stayed in there all day, and if it weren't for the companionship of Wanda, Mystique, and Pietro, I would have.

Wanda's room was right across the hall from mine. The walls were covered in (what else) reds and pinks'. She had big black-and –white pictures of famous places, like the Eiffel tower, and Times Square at night. Pietro lived in a room down in the basement. He had all his instruments down there, and he could play them and his stereo as loud as he wanted to without anyone upstairs being bothered by it. I didn't go in there much, but his furniture was all black plastic, the walls were chalk grey, and covered with band posters. So it was the room of a typical music lover.

Now, as much as I didn't go into Pietro's room, Ms. Grey, I sure didn't go into Mystique's room. Not that it was a huge rule, or anything, but she was at work a lot, and when we did talk, it was usually around the kitchen table, or in the living room in front of the TV. I did glance in there once though. The place was filled with antiques. Everything, from the dresser, to the bed set looked like they were at least one hundred years old. They were all gorgeous pieces, of course. Even he walls were papered with an old Victorian –looking print.

I always had this theory that this was her way of trying to put down roots. Everything she had looked like it had been passed down to her, but I knew they hadn't . I got the feeling she was trying to make up some happy past for herself, full of grandma's and humorous family stories, when form what I could tell, her life was the exact opposite. I didn't blame her though; everyone who has come form a dysfunctional family has had to find some way to cope. Lord knows, I certainly had to.

After getting up and getting dressed, I went downstairs and, as usual on Saturdays, made pancakes for the three of us kids to have for breakfast. Saturdays we had pancakes, and on Sundays we had waffles. I don't know how we came up with that tradition, but it still holds to this day. Mystique had left earlier that morning for work ( she worked even on Saturdays, she was such a workaholic) and Magneto had said good bye and left while it was still dark out, thinking that it would be better if he left the immediate area as soon as possible. He took Blob and Toad with him. As much as Pietro wanted some sort of male influence, I can't say he was sorry to see those two go.

"Wow, what a crazy night, last night." remarked Pietro. He said this between mouthfuls of pancake. It was a miracle we could understand him at all, because he always put loads of peanut butter on his pancakes. For the life of me, I could never understand why.

"Yeah," agreed Wanda," do you think we'll ever see any of those kids again? It'd be nice make friends with some other mutant kids."

"Who knows?" I said ", I'd certainly like to see more of them. But they're stuck up in that school most of the time, and their headmaster has a grudge with your dad and my guardian, remember? They'll probably be pretty protective of their students where it comes to us."

Wanda and Pietro's both looked really disappointed when I said that. I _sure_ turned out to be right about _that_, didn't I, Ms. Grey? Though, it wasn't your fault what happened. But, I'll get to that.

"So, what do you guys want to do today?" Pietro asked, as we were finishing up our meal. ", We could take the bus into town, and go to the park."

"No, it's still too muddy from the rainstorm the other night. " I put in. "we could take the bus into the city, and check out Madame Tusseud's Wax Museum."

"I don't want to go into the city. The storm that hit us is there now, and the whole city is drenched. "said Wanda. " I don't feel like starting up next week's homework, either."

"I'm with you on that." said Pietro. "After everything that happened last night, there's no way I would be able to concentrate. What do you say we take the bus into town and see a movie this afternoon?"

This seemed like a good plan to me, so we looked up what was playing on line, and later that day boarded the bus to go into town. I can't even remember what movie we saw that day, Ms. Grey, but I do remember that I had a good time, and walked out of the movie room into the theater lobby with smiles on our faces. Our bus wasn't due to arrive for about ten or fifteen minutes, so we had to wait around. That's when I spotted the five x-kids from the night before, standing in the lobby.

I caught Bobby's eye, and he and the other four approached us timidly, as if not sure what to do or say. There was a few seconds of awkward silence. The five of them lined up facing the three of us. No one knew how to act in such a unique situation like this. How many people can say they met someone during a huge battle between super-powered humans? We eyed each other warily, waiting for someone to make the first move. Then Pietro boldly stepped out between our two groups to break the ice.

"Hi…my name is Pietro, and I have the ability of super speed. Um…my sister Wanda, here, has the ability of hex powers. As for Rogue, she can suck the life force of someone just by physical contact. What about you guys?"

I guess his openness put the others at ease, because then Bobby stepped forward.

"I'm Bobby Drake. I have the power to freeze things into ice. According to Professor X, later I might even be able to turn my body into ice itself. So, because of that, they call me Iceman."

"My name is Kitty Pryde." said the short, Petite, Brown haired girl form the night before ", and I can phase through objects, like a ghost."

"Cool" I said. ", and what about you?" I asked the Asian-American girl standing next to Kitty.

"My name is Jubilee. I basically shoot fireworks out of my hands. "She said shortly.

"I am Piotr Rasputin ." said a rather large, built boy, with a foreign accent. "I can turn my body to indestructible metal."

"Wow." said Pietro. These were some seriously cool sounding gifts.

"I'm Jamie. Jamie Maddrox," Said a boy with dark hair and dark eyes. " I can create copies of myself. They call me multiple man."

"So, are you guys really home-schooled?" asked Bobby.

"Yeah," I told him. ", we kind of teach ourselves though. Sometimes, we take the bus into the city, and go to museums for our lessons."

I tried it make it sound as cool as possible, because I knew how weird our whole arrangement seemed. The x-kids seemed pretty impressed, though.

"Hey, have you ever been to the Museum of- "Jubilee started.

"What's going on here?!" It was your Cyclops, Ms. Grey. He had just entered the theater, after pulling around the x-van, so it seemed.

"What are you doing?" He said to his students.

"We were just talking to them, Mr. Summers." explained Bobby.

"Well, don't. It's dangerous. C'mon, we're going back to the school." He started rushing them along toward the door.

"Dangerous?" said Kitty. "They're dangerous?"

"They are Magneto and Mystique's children. They will be. I don't want any of you talking nor socializing with them ever again, do you hear me? Now, come on!"

" What?!" Said Wanda, disbelievingly.

"Hey!" Pietro said angrily." What is your problem/"

"No problem." He replied, "I just need to protect my students, that all."

That was not all. We didn't know it, but you had left that morning for Italy. We didn't know that Cyclops was broken up about you leaving, and he was only chaperoning the movie outing because Professor Xavier suggested it to get his mind off things. We certainly weren't aware that Cyclops had almost convinced you try a long-distance relationship, but the stress of the battle the night before had convinced her that your lives would be too crazy and busy to try.

Now, Ms. Grey, you've told both Wanda and I a few times now that the song we were singing in the gym that night had nothing to do with your decision or state of mind that night. But Cyclops sure seemed to think so, and our faces and our voices singing that song was running through his mind during the confrontation at the movie theatre.

If not for his heart break over you, he might have been in more control of his behavior, and not done what he did. But he did, and that incident set up the status quo between us, him, and the rest of the x-kids for a long time.

But like I said, we didn't know any of this, then. All we knew was that an adult we didn't really know had judged us, and told kids who we could have become good friends with that they couldn't talk to or hang out with us. It was pretty upsetting, and Wanda started crying from the hurt.

"That's it, I'm not taking this." said Pietro, starting off towards the door.

"No, Pete!" I grabbed him before he could speed off. "That guy's a jerk, but this isn't the place! Look, let's get out here. Sheesh, I guess your Dad was right about them after all."

We headed off towards the back exit, to avoid any more run-ins with anyone form the Xavier school. From that day forward, we all hated Cyclops. He made Wanda cry, and that was the end of it. Unlike Magneto, none us ever had anything against the x-men, and we might have actually liked him if he hadn't been such a big jerk to us that day. As for the five x-kids, we never heard from them again. They had to listen to their teachers, and the three of us understood that. Plus, we weren't sure that they knew _how_ to get into contact with us.

Pietro told Wanda and I not to mention what happened to Mystique or Magneto. They weren't around too much, but were both fiercely protective of all of us. As much as a total _jerk_ Cyclops was, we didn't want any of _that_ coming down on a school full of kids.

As for the x-kids, we figured it was that last time we would see any of them. We had a feeling they would probably be kept close to the school from now on, an after being humiliated by Cyclops like that, we had no desire to go anywhere near that school or any of its inhabitants.

And for the next year or so, that was the way we acted when it came towards the x-men. But that became a much harder line for us to take later on. I'm sure you have a vague idea of what happened my freshman year of high school. Since you were away in Italy, though, I'll help fill in all the blanks. Buckle your seat belt, Ms. Grey, because it sure was an interesting ride.

* * *

Time passed. It always does. My eighth grade year ended, and Wanda, Pietro and I were ready for high school. Mystique ultimately decided to enroll the three of us into the local high school, Salem High School. As you had said once, Ms. Grey, we couldn't teach ourselves hard high school courses.

It was the first day of school. We had taken the bus into town. I had been born just before the cut off date for going to Kindergarten, back in my hometown, so I had always been a year older than everyone else in my class. Luckily, this meant I was driving around before the end of my freshman year, so it wasn't long before we didn't have to take the bus anywhere.

Anyways, it seemed like a pretty normal high school. Pietro was talking about signing up for band and choir, and I remember Wanda mentioning girl's volleyball. We were just walking down the halls, checking things out. It all seemed okay. But when we turned down the freshman hallway to find our lockers, I got the shock of my life.

Standing right in the middle of the hallway was not just one, but all _five_ of the x-kids from last year. Wanda, Pietro and I stood there, glued to where we had been standing, not believing our eyes. Didn't they have their _own_ school? What were they doing _here_?

It was Kitty who noticed us first. She nudged Bobby, who got the other kid's attention and pointed us out to them. They walked over to us, and our two groups stood across form each other not knowing what to say. It was just like our first meeting in the movie theatre that day, accept now it was even more awkward than back then, thanks to what Cyclops had done. People were beginning to stare at us.

"Hey, why don't we take this somewhere else?" I suggested. "This is starting to look like the lamest gang show-down ever."

Everyone snapped out of the shocked stupor they were in, an quickly followed Bobby's lead, as he opened the door to an empty classroom and went inside.

"What are you_ doing _here?" Pietro demanded, as soon as the door was securely shut.

It's a special project of the Professor's" explained Kitty. "he wants to prove that mutants and humans can live along side each other peacefully. He chose us to enroll in school here, because we all are in control of our powers so well."

"Okay." said Pietro.

"What about you guys?" questioned Jubilee. "I thought you were home schooled."

"We figured it would be easier to learn high school courses with actual teachers, than trying to figure them out ourselves." I explained.

"Are Mystique and Magneto okay with you guys going to school with a bunch of humans?" asked Bobby.

"They realize that something's are just necessary when it comes to raising kids." Pietro said coolly, "Do you think Cyclops will be okay with the five of you going to school with a bunch of 'dangerous kids' like us?"

All of the kids grimaced.

"Look, about that, we're really sorry …"Bobby started.

"Is he?" Wanda asked.

There was silence.

"I figured as much." said Pietro. "We know it wasn't your fault what happened. We don't blame you guys, or hold any sort of grudge against any of you."

"What about Cyclops?" asked Piotr.

"What do you think?" I asked sarcastically.

"I get it." said Bobby. "You have every right to be angry about that. What he said was way out of line. He's not usually like that. You should see him normally. "

"I'd rather not see him under any circumstances, if you don't mind." said Pietro crisply.

"Yeah, look the thing is..." started Kitty. "Well, there's a lot of animosity between our two groups, and Cyclops, however much you might not like him, is still our teacher, and we've all been told to steer clear of you guys, so…"

"So," Picked up Pietro,"you think we should keep our distance from each other, as Cyclops wanted. Well, all things considered, that's probably a good decision."

There was silence all around. I looked over at Bobby. They all seemed like pretty cool kids. Heck, we were all pretty cool kids. But we were kids on opposite sides of a line. It was a line that hadn't been drawn by us, but by other people. Still, it looked like we would have to abide by it, for now.

Everyone started nodding to each other. So it was settled. We would, for the greater good, keep our distance from one another. We didn't want them to get in trouble for hanging out with or talking with us. The last thing we needed was for some conflict to happen at the High school because of our two sides clashing. We all got up from our places, and began to exit the room. Pietro halted, though, and turned toward the five x-kids.

"However," He said ", if anything ever happens, if you ever need anything, you can come to us. If something happens to your teachers, or there is some sort of attack at your school and there is no where else to go for help, just give us a ring, all right?"

Bobby nodded. "Yeah, the same goes with us."

With that understanding, the eight mutants in attendance at Salem High settled into an uneasy truce. Pietro joined track, and the school show choir. With all of the running he turned from the scrawny boy we all knew, into a pretty muscular guy. A lot of the girls got crushes on him. Wanda joined the Art Club and volleyball team, while I got involved in student council and the girl's softball team.

Going to high school made me pretty happy, but it was a different sort of happiness than when Pietro and Wanda came to live with us. It was sort of like I was living the life I might have led, if things had been different. These experiences, going to school games, and dances, and everything else, were the sort of things I might have done if my parents hadn't done drugs, and I hadn't run away.

As for the x-kids, we didn't interact too much. Once, Pietro saved Kitty from creepy upperclassmen that tried to put the moves on her. One memorable day, after a fight between Mystique and the X-Men, we all sat down together at lunch and traded stories we'd heard, trying to figure out what was real and what had been exaggerated. After that, our two groups relaxed toward each other a little more.

Then one day,in passing, towards the end of the year, Bobby told me that you had finished up her session in Italy, and would be coming home. It never occurred to me to wonder whether you, Cyclops, or the Professor knew we were at school with your students, Ms. Grey. I had told Mystique. She just warned me, Wanda, and Pietro to not get into any fights, or cause trouble because of them. I guess she just saw it as an unavoidable annoyance she couldn't do anything about.

At the end of our freshman year, they had a big rally in the gym. It was in part to honor all the kids involved in extra-curricular activities, and to say good-bye to a few teachers who were leaving. The school was in a real bind with staffing that year. The state of New York was facing a teacher shortage, and we had quite a few teachers who were either moving or retiring. The year was almost up and they still hadn't replaced all of them. Of course, you already know that, now don't you Ms. Grey?

You, Wolverine, The Professor, and Cyclops all trooped down to see your students who were participating in the rally. As much as I couldn't stand Cyclops, I remember thinking how nice it was it was that you all came out to support your students.

Oh, man, the looks on your faces when our names were called onto the gym floor! Your jaws all dropped at the same time. I remember thinking, _well; _they_ certainly didn't know we were going here._

**Heh, heh, heh, heh**…

I remember leaving the school that day, with all of the X-crowd in a huge x-huddle in the middle of the school lobby.

"Why didn't you tell us they went to school here?"

"We knew you would flip!"

"What if something happened?"

"Nothings ever happened! We barely talk or hang out, just like you said. It wasn't a big deal."

"Yeah," I put in as I walked past the group ", you don't have to worry at all about us 'dangerous kids 'causing any trouble."

Everyone in the x-group stopped talking and stared at me, but I just kept walking past them out the door.

As I left, I heard the voice of Professor Xavier's ever-calm voice saying "Perhaps instead of looking on this as a problem, we should consider it an opportunity…"

At the time, I blocked out what he was saying, and made myself forget about it. I should have stayed and listened, because then I would have had more warning about what was to come. But I didn't. I spent the last few weeks of school happy and oblivious to the changes of staffing that were coming to Salem High. I ignore the excited rumblings of the x-kids, and prepared myself for summer. I should have listened to them, and paid attention to what was going on around me. Because around me, applications were being sent in and accepted, meetings were being held, interviews conducted, and soon, the teacher shortage crisis was considered over at Salem High School.

Such was the coming of Phoenix and Cyclops as teachers at Salem High.

* * *

And the 6th chapter is done! Sorry it's been so long folks, but the school musical always takes up time, and creative juices. Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing. I'm pretty proud of this story. This chapter is the turning point. It sets up for the rest of the story. Instead of every chapter going over a year or more, they are going to focus on things during everyone's sophomore year of high school. Hey, if any one wants to request a story or anything, I'd be up to it. I feel like I'm on top of the world for finally getting this chapter done. This is when things really start going. Stick with it folks, its only going to get better from here! (Please keep reviewing, so I can know what I'm doing right or wrong!)


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